Colts Get Big Update on WR Adonai Mitchell’s Role Before Raiders Game
Though segments of the fanbase is calling for his benching, the Indianapolis Colts aren’t willing to go quite that far with second-year WR Adonai Mitchell. On Friday, Colts head coach Shane Steichen reaffirmed his confidence in the young receiver. However, a report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Saturday night may tell a different story.
Per Fowler, Mitchell will be active on Sunday, but he may play a limited role. Mitchell is usually Indy’s fourth receiver, but with WR Alec Pierce still dealing with a concussion suffered in Week 3 against the Titans, Mitchell was elevated to the WR3 role last week against the Rams. He had two critical mistakes that contributed to a Colts loss, including a holding penalty on a long run and, after making an incredible catch and run, fumbling the ball out of the back of the end zone.
As a result, Mitchell will take a back seat on Sunday to WR Ashton Dulin, a speedster for the Colts who primarily plays special teams. Per Fowler, Mitchell will still have a role, but it may be limited.
Mitchell is officially active for the Raiders game, with Pierce out with the concussion. Cornerback Kenny Moore II and running back Tyler Goodson are also inactive, while Riley Leonard was designated as the Colts’ third quarterback. Linebacker Buddy Johnson, offensive tackle Luke Tenuta and defensive tackle Eric Johnson II are all also inactive, according to the Colts.
WR Adonai Mitchell is the Best Separator on the Indianapolis Colts
Ronald Martinez/GettyINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 28: Adonai Mitchell #10 of the Indianapolis Colts runs with the ball during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
When the Colts drafted Mitchell last year, Steichen was buzzing about how easily he gained separation at the tops of his routes. In his final season in college at Texas, Mitchell had 55 receptions for 845 yards and 11 touchdowns. When watching his tape, it was evident how smoothly he moved, and his 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine proved his top-end speed.
Mitchell joined a crowded Colts receiver room, and he’s been buried on the depth chart. That said, he’s produced when called upon, with 23 receptions for 312 yards as a rookie. So far this season, he has seven receptions for 137 yards in four games.
When Mitchell fumbled out of the end zone for a turnover last week against the Rams, he never seemed to recover mentally. He’d made an incredible catch down the sideline, beating sticky coverage with a clean grab and a spin away from two defenders, causing them to collide. As he raced down the sideline for his first NFL touchdown, he tried to hold them ball out in front of him as he crossed the goal line, but the ball slipped out of his hands.
After that moment, he was visibly upset with himself, and no matter how many times teammates and coaches came over to encourage him, he couldn’t snap out of it. During a timeout, he could be seen pacing in circles while the rest of the offense huddled up. Mitchell’s smaller role this week could simply be a tactic by the coaching staff to ease the pressure on him.
The Indianapolis Colts Have a Chance to Go on a Run
The Colts are 3-1 on the year, tied with the Jaguars at the top of the AFC South. Over the next few weeks, they play the Raiders, Cardinals, Chargers, Titans, Steelers, and Falcons — all winnable games. Indianapolis will be favored in most of those, as well.
With one of the most efficient offenses in football and an improving defense, the Colts are set for a surge in the standings in the coming weeks, and it could lead to a solid grasp on the division.
Denver Broncos predicted to have back-to-back DPOY winners at quarter-season mark
The Denver Broncos have one of the league's best defenses and if things stay on the trajectory that they have been going in, the team could achieve something the league has rarely seen.
Last year, Broncos defensive back Pat Surtain II was chosen as the league's Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in team history (Randy Gradishar, 1978), to do so. But could the team have another one of its players do it again this year?
Bill Barnwell of ESPN put together some awards from the quarter-season mark this year and as of right now, he has Nik Bonitto winning the award.
Bonitto had a breakout season in 2024 and has gotten off to a fast start in 2025, collecting 4.5 sacks in the team's first four games. He was rewarded with a big contract extension before the season started and now, he could be recognized with one of the league's top awards.
He was Barnwell's assessment:
"I'm just not sure we can put anybody ahead of Bonitto, who rates out as the best pass rusher in the NFL this season by about every metric I can put together beyond sacks -- where his 4.5 are a half-sack behind Brian Burns of the Giants. Bonitto has done that on 86 pass-rush opportunities, while Garrett is at 98 and Burns has had 127.
Leave sacks aside. Pressures? Bonitto's 27 are the most in football, and his 31.4% pressure rate is about double that of superstars like Hines- Allen and Aidan Hutchinson. Quick pressures? Bonitto's 15 are four more than anybody else in the league, and his 17.4% quick pressure rate is almost laughably outlandish. The second-best quick pressure rate for guys with 80 pass-rush opportunities or more is Garrett at 11.2%, and he's closer to 23rd than he is to Bonitto in first.
Bonitto doesn't get double-teamed as often as the Garretts and Hutchinsons of the world, both because he doesn't have the reputation as a superstar and because the Broncos have a couple of very good rushers elsewhere on their D-line in Zach Allen and Jonathon Cooper. He's not the same caliber of run defender as Garrett or Simmons, but Bonitto is fast enough for the Broncos to have used him as a spy when they've played Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in the past.
Even acknowledging those realities, though, Bonitto has simply been head and shoulders above everyone else in getting to the quarterback and creating problems this season. There might not be anybody better right now at getting off the line and around opposing tackles; there's usually at least one snap per game where it looks as if Bonitto was in the offensive huddle and knew the snap count and the protection scheme. He made major strides between 2022 and 2023 and then again between 2023 and 2024. It looks as if he has leveled up into one of the league's best speed rushers in 2025."
Only three teams in NFL history have had different players win the Defensive Player of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons, and it hasn't happened since 2003-2004.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Joe Greene (1974), Mel Blount (1975), Jack Lambert (1976)
Buffalo Bills: Bryce Paup (1995), Bruce Smith (1996)
Baltimore Ravens: Ray Lewis (2003), Ed Reed (2004)
